2026/01/01 by Tadeas Cely, Marc S Jacob, Sean J Westwood · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Gender Politics and Representation #Social and Intergroup Psychology
paper · doi:10.1093/poq/nfag004
Abstract Political candidates in the United States increasingly endorse antidemocratic actions across all levels of office, yet most research focuses on federal races. A key concern is that norm-violating candidates at lower levels may ascend to higher office, posing broader risks to democratic stability. This study examines whether voters are more or less likely to defect from copartisan norm violators at lower levels of office. Across two preregistered survey experiments with 5,000 US respondents, we find that defection rates remain consistent across local, state, and federal races, regardless of the number or type of violations. These findings suggest two interpretations: optimistically, voters are not more forgiving of norm violations in lower-level elections; pessimistically, even where the stakes appear lower, voters are also no more likely to hold norm violators accountable. Our results are consistent with the nationalization of voting behavior and the risk of a candidate pipeline that enables norm violators to rise unchecked.